Transportation Security Administration has found 83 grenades in luggage this year alone

Some of the travel recommendations posted on the Transportation Security Administration's blog seem stupefying obvious. This week's entitled: "Leave Your Grenades at Home" seemed like a no brainer, but alas.

The TSA wrote about grenades in particular: Year to date, the agency's officers have discovered:

43 grenades in carry-on baggage.

40 grenades in checked baggage

Officers at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) discovered a live 40mm high explosive grenade in a carry-on bag in 2012. According to the TSA at the time, there was no nefarious intent. It was a soldier who made a mistake and in the end, no charges were filed.

"The majority of these grenades were inert, replica, or novelty items, but a few were live smoke, flare, riot, and flash bang grenades, which can pose major safety issues to aircraft and also violate FAA hazmat regulations," the TSA wrote.

The TSA went on to explain the problem, as if most folks need it explained: "Some have asked us why inert grenades are dangerous since they are dormant. The answer is that they are not dangerous. The issue with inert grenades is that they look like live grenades during screening. When a potential explosive is detected, we must follow protocols that can cause screening areas and even terminals to be closed and evacuated. When checkpoints are closed, flights are delayed and sometimes missed causing the airline and travelers frustration. Another reason all inert grenade related items are prohibited is the panic that could ensue if a passenger were to reveal a grenade while in the cabin of an aircraft. Grenade shaped belt buckles, lighters, soap, candles, MP3 players, paperweights, inert training grenades, and other items can all look like the real item on the x-ray monitor. Please leave these items at home, or find another way of getting them to your destination."

Cooney is an Online News Editor and the author of the Layer 8 blog, Network World's daily home for the not-just-networking news. He has been working with Network World since 1992. You can reach him at mcooney@nww.com.